Hikari
by taiyou
Summary: A short, thoughtless ficcy created just to pass my time. It focuses just after the scene Sora defeats Cerebus and actually comes close to a civil conversation with Cloud.


Hikari  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, I don't own Final Fantasy, I don't own Hades, that all belongs to Squaresoft and Disney. *tries not to sniff*  
  
A/N: *deep bow* Gomen, gomen~!!! *bows again* I just found out there is a similar fic like this showing the same scene on Chapter 4! (Finding My Light by Kitty Luver) I swear on Aerith's almighty Holy I didn't realize this until I was finished! So... I'll post this up... Please treat this as an original, argh, This is so short compared to the said fic... so, um, gomenasai to Ms. Kitty Luver also. *deep bow*  
  
A clash of swords, and all was over. How humiliating was it to be defeated by a kid and to be rescued by the man he was assigned to kill?  
The ex-SOLDIER was found sitting upon the steps leading from the Olympus Coliseum, deep in thought. How could he have possibly been beaten by a... boy? His lonely, mako eyes glowed with intensity, and then also with sadness. He couldn't find her, now.   
  
He had lost to a boy- no, the keyblade master, he decided. He wasn't an ordinary boy, and neither was he fighting for an ordinary cause, either. But he hadn't cared that the young swordsman was trying to save the world. His mind was set on his goal and anyone who got into the way would just have to move. But he lost, and his only lead to finding her was gone. At least he had realized... he had come to his senses, that bargaining with the dark would only result into falling into darkness. And she wouldn't have wanted that. His bright eyes dimmed at the thought. If he had found her through following his contract with the dark, she would have seen a monster, not a friend. So that boy had helped him, somehow. He'd never admit it, though.  
  
"Hey, are you alright?"  
  
Cloud looked up from his reverie. Sora, the keyblade master, was looking at him tentatively.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"So... why did you go along with him anyway?" he asked. Perhaps it wasn't his place to ask that, but he was a boy and he was genuinely concerned. Cloud hadn't received this sort of kind treatment in a long time, and it was warming to the heart. He did owe the boy some amount of thanks, though the latter didn't know it. So he told the truth.  
  
The one-winged swordsman rested his head gently on his arms, letting out a deep sigh. The truth hurt him, but he felt good knowing that it was coming out. "I'm looking for someone."  
  
Aerith. A brief image sparked a distant but fond memory - he shut his eyes in a vain attempt to see her more clearly. He had gone through the underworld to look for her, and had even collaborated with death's ruler by signing a contract. "...I'm looking for someone, and Hades promised to help." He said. Sora looked slightly confused. If he was asking Hades for help in finding someone... then that meant that that person...  
  
was dead?  
  
She's alive, Cloud answered the boy's questioning gaze. I know she is.   
  
And I was so intent on finding her, I didn't look where I was going. "I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired. I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light."  
  
My light. Aerith.  
  
He stood up, looking skyward, almost wistfully. He was never a man of sentiment, but...would he ever...?  
  
"You'll find it."   
  
This took the soldier by surprise. His deep, unsettling gaze fell on Sora, searching far into the depths of the child's pure soul. The boy didn't shy from it, and returned the look squarely because he wasn't afraid to tell the truth.   
  
"I'm searching, too." The boy said quietly, comfortingly.  
  
A moment passed, letting the two enjoy the feel of a mutual understanding.  
  
"For your light..." It was more of a statement than a question, but the boy nodded.  
  
They were both searching. With a curious jolt of surprise, Cloud saw some of his own determination resting in Sora's eyes. No, the boy would never be taken by the dark. With his friends, silly as they may look, behind him, and with his strong, steadfast heart. But enough of the cliches, he should start thinking of the more physical battles ahead. He inclined his head to show his approval, and walked towards Sora. He could help with the physical. He handed a little something that he knew would prove useful for the keyblade master.  
  
"Don't lose sight of it." You should be fine, Sora, if you only look towards the light.  
  
It would have been a dashing exit for the soldier as he strode past the gates of the Olympus Coliseum. Melodramatics done, however, Sora chose to crack a joke as he was walking away.  
  
"How 'bout a rematch sometime, fair and square, no dark powers involved!"  
  
The soldier paused briefly, the slightest flush of embarrasment creeping along his cheeks. Thank god he hadn't plunged into the darkness. What a fool he had been! He cast the boy a sideways glance, unconsciously running his hand through the spiky blonde hair in sheepishness.  
  
"I think I'll pass." Maybe next time, kid.  
  
I have to find her, still.   
  
***  
  
A flower girl sneezed.   
  
"You alright?" Yuffie asked.  
  
The young Cetra smiled the gentle smile she was known and loved for. "Of course, Yuffie."  
  
The ninja looked at her teasingly. "Well, Aerith, you know what they say- sneezing often means that someone's thinking of you."  
  
Aerith laughed. "Yes, I have heard of that particular saying. I wonder who it could be?" She smiled, briefly dwelling on the thought.  
  
Yuffie giggled, wagging a finger knowingly. "You're secret lover! You MUST have one, considering that you're so mysterious and knowledgable when it comes to love!"  
  
A slight blush crept up the girl's face. "Yuffie!"  
  
***  
  
The door clicked, signaling the entrance of someone into Hades' secret office. A rather dark, mysterious blue-eyed someone at that, no other than Cloud. Hades had been expecting his report.  
  
"Well, well, well, the great ex-SOLDIER of top rank is afraid of a kid?" The god smirked, reinforcing the word 'kid' to sound taunting. Cloud had said the same lines to him only a while ago, and knew rebounding the remark would surely sting his ego. No expression registered on the mortal's guarded face, however, and the god of the underworld resorted to persuasion.  
  
"Well, he did beat you in a tournament, with all that fair rules and shit, so perhaps you were holding back? You /could/ accidentally meet him in a deserted alleyway and-" the god made an action of slitting his throat, following it by deep belly laughter. His loud cackling annoyed Cloud, really.  
  
"Cerebus may be one of your dogs, but I'm not." The man's eyes glowed dangerously. "The deal's off, Hades."  
  
"Oh?" The god turned, facing the human. "Well, I suppose dogs don't have yellow spikes to fit their hairdos but..." The human looked unamused. The god smiled sweetly in his face, producing a roll of paper from who knows where, and letting it unroll to reveal a few paragraphs, followed by two signatures featured in its face . It was the contract.  
  
"No such luck, kid. The contract says you have to kill Hercules to-"  
  
"Yeah. And I failed to reach him. So it's over." Cloud said curtly, cutting him off.  
  
"-Find a certain Cetra," Hades finished, only then understanding what the mortal had so bluntly quipped. He paused, anger rising into him. This was going against his plans! "You'll never find her without me, boy." His smirk was starting to look ugly and a lot more serious than usual. "You need a guide when you're looking for... a dead person."  
  
"I'll find my light."  
  
"You can't escape from the darkness! Once taken, you can't get out!" The god growled.  
  
"Go dip your head in bucket of water." The man said shortly, promptly turning and heading towards the door.  
  
Click. The door shut.  
  
...  
...  
...  
  
"THAT #%(@$^$#!!!" Hades roared, his hair set ablaze. He felt the contract burning into ashes. It was now void. In disgust, he realized that for the second time in all eternity a mortal had bested him (Hercules had been first). He never had a firm grip on that human's life, because the latter still had a choice.   
  
He had not been obliged to kill Hercules, but just that in doing so he would have been led where he believed Aeris was. And if he had fallen into death, he would have stayed dead. But one small loophole, and he was free.  
  
"!@$&*(!*&!!!" Hades cursed not unlike, to our readers, the infamous Cid Highwind. It was very colorful, even for a god.  
  
  
A/N: There! I don't really know if I'm gonna continue ( ^^;; not like there's any to continue) but I just felt like scribbling a bit. (Hey~ I'm not asking for reviews to continue, I really just wanted to write something down.) Thank the heavens there's fanfiction.net, even though it's... well... anyway. Reviews would be greatly appreciated, kupo. So.. uh, there. ^^ Konnichiwa, or konbanwa or whatever time of day it is to you~ *bow* 


End file.
